Manufacturer Corticeira Amorim, environmental group Quercus and Mora's Santa Casa da Misericórdia are joining forces in organising the operation, which is to start at 10.30am on the Herdade da Barroca in Pavia and on land owned by the Santa Casa.

The operation forms part of Amorim's 'Natural Choice' programme, and Quercus's 'Common Forest' project.

Since 2011, according to the company, cooperation between it and Quercus in such reforestation initiatives has seen the planting in Portugal of “a total of 15,500 native trees”, above all cork oaks.´

This operation will involve 80 volunteers from the company planting oaks provided by the Quercus project.

Portugal, the company recalled in its statement, “is world leader in terms of area of cork oak forest”, which covers the western Mediterranean basin and plays “a very important role” in retaining carbon dioxide and in regulating the water cycle, as well as fostering “biodiversity of an importance comparable to regions such as Amazonia, Borneo or the African savannah”.